Trump’s Golf Course Plan Could Wipe Out the Most Iconic Miles of D.C.’s Biggest Road Races

The road that carries Marine Corps Marathon runners past tributes to fallen service members during the Blue Mile could vanish. The shaded stretch where Cherry Blossom 10-Miler runners pass under pink blooms for miles 7, 8 and 9 could vanish with it.

That is the prospect facing D.C. runners after the Trump administration confirmed it is moving forward with plans to overhaul East Potomac Park, the 330-acre peninsula that sits between the Potomac River and the Washington Channel. Conceptual drawings obtained by The Washington Post show much of the park redeveloped as a high-end golf course, with the four-mile asphalt loop used by runners and cyclists nowhere on the page.

What the renderings show

The Post reported on May 9 that the renderings being circulated to potential donors do not include the park’s open grasslands, picnic grounds or tennis courts. They also leave out the perimeter road, the flat traffic-free loop that has made East Potomac a year-round training ground for thousands of D.C. runners.

A joint announcement on May 8 from the National Park Service and National Links Trust described the East Potomac project as a “historic restoration” that would include a “top-tier 18-hole championship course capable of hosting pre-eminent tournament golf.” The statement did not say whether the loop road, miniature golf course, picnic areas or tennis courts would survive the redesign.

Administration officials have not commented on the renderings, and no plan has been publicly approved. In court filings this week, government lawyers said the Park Service “has not made a final decision about renovating or remodeling” the course.

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes pushed back on that characterization during a hearing on Monday.

“Something is happening. I don’t know what it is. When you have a pledge going out with pictures, asking people for money, we’re pretty far down the road, okay? So I think there’s been more happening.”

U.S. District Judge Ana C. Reyes, as quoted by The Washington Post

How This Affects Runners And Races

For race directors, East Potomac is not just scenic. It is one of the only stretches of road in central D.C. where thousands of runners can pass through without shutting down city traffic, because the park sits on a peninsula with a single entry point.

The Cherry Blossom 10-Miler routes runners onto the perimeter road from around mile 7 to mile 9 every April, taking them under the cherry trees at Hains Point. The Marine Corps Marathon’s Blue Mile, the section lined with photos and flags honoring fallen U.S. service members, also runs along this stretch. Smaller D.C. races, weekend long runs, and bike club meetups use the loop almost daily.

Rerouting these courses through other parts of the city would mean shutting down working streets, adding more police presence, and reworking decades of permitted course maps. In some cases it may not be possible at all. The Marine Corps Marathon is one of the largest marathons in the United States, with about 20,000 finishers a year, and it has long been a bucket-list race for runners who want to take in the monuments along the Potomac.

Cyclists who share the loop are watching closely. Mike Copperthite, 70, has ridden with a noon weekday group of about 200 cyclists at East Potomac for 32 years. He told The Washington Post the flat loop is safer than any city street because traffic is restricted. The president’s proposal, he said, “doesn’t ask for permission. He just does it anyway.”

If you have ever trained for a 10-miler, you know how much a flat, predictable loop matters when you are stringing together repeats or a long run. Losing that kind of space inside the District would push training onto busier roads.

Runners Aren’t The Only Ones Impacted

East Potomac is not just a running and cycling spot. It is where D.C. residents fish for white perch and carp, watch planes come into Reagan National, picnic under the trees at Hains Point, and birdwatch in one of the most species-rich locations in the District.

Bart Hutchinson, 58, who has visited the park for more than 30 years, told the Post that “Hains Point has the most species of birds seen in D.C.” That includes rare sightings of a tufted duck and a Pacific loon this spring.

The miniature golf course on the peninsula, the oldest continuously operating one in the country, just had a $1 million renovation in 2024. It does not appear in the new renderings.

National Links Trust, the nonprofit that signed a 50-year lease in 2020 to run the city’s three public courses, will retain control of Langston Golf Course and Rock Creek Park Golf and will continue operating East Potomac in the near term. The Trump administration terminated the trust’s lease on the East Potomac course in December 2025.

This is not the first time a high-profile running spot has come under pressure from a city or federal decision. Earlier this year, the NYC Parks Department banned the popular “Last 10” pre-marathon shakeout runs in Central Park, showing how quickly public-access rules can change for runners who rely on a single iconic course.

How Things Look Right Now

The course and surrounding parkland are still open to the public. No final design has been approved, and any federal redesign would require environmental review and public planning processes. The National Garden of American Heroes, a separate proposal, would occupy West Potomac Park near the FDR and MLK memorials, taking up another stretch of open ground used by recreational runners and pickup sports.

For D.C. runners and the race organizers who depend on this corridor, the next few months will matter. A 26-year-old D.C. resident named Alex Rosen has launched SaveEastPo.com to track the plans and rally support, after he saw the renderings and realized how little public information was out there.

Tai Smith, a 48-year-old minister who has a photo of his mother holding him at Hains Point when he was seven months old, summed up the feeling of many regulars.

“To think this place would be changed to anything other than what it is is crazy,” Smith told the Post. “It has been a part of the culture in D.C. for such a long time.”

For now, race calendars for 2026 and 2027 still include the East Potomac loop. Whether first-time marathoners running MCM in 2028 will still cross those iconic miles is an open question.